Avengers Doomsday Is Coming These Are The Movies You Need To Watch First

Marvel fans have been waiting for another Avengers movie since the emotional ending of Avengers Endgame. Now, Avengers Doomsday is finally bringing the Marvel universe back together, and this time the threat is bigger than almost anything the heroes have faced before.

But there is one problem.

If you have not kept up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some of the characters and storylines in Avengers Doomsday may leave you completely confused.

The good news is that you do not need to watch every Marvel movie ever made.

There are a handful of movies that can give you the important pieces of the story, from the Avengers' history and the multiverse to the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and the return of the X-Men.

So, before Avengers Doomsday arrives, here are the movies you should watch first.

Avengers Endgame Is The Movie You Cannot Skip

If you watch only one movie before Avengers Doomsday, make it Avengers Endgame.

Endgame is the emotional foundation of the modern Avengers story. It concludes the original Avengers era, changes the lives of several major characters, and sets up the world that exists after the Infinity Saga.

It is also especially important because the upcoming Avengers story is expected to bring together characters and worlds that were previously separated.

And there is another reason to watch it now.

Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, but not as Tony Stark. He is playing Doctor Doom.

That alone makes a rewatch of Endgame feel very different.

The Russo brothers have also recently emphasized the importance of revisiting Endgame ahead of Doomsday.

Loki Season 1 And Season 2 Are Almost Essential

Technically, Loki is a series rather than a movie, but skipping it could make the multiverse storyline much harder to understand.

Loki introduces viewers to the Time Variance Authority, alternate timelines, and the complicated rules surrounding the multiverse.

The second season takes these ideas even further.

If Avengers Endgame shows how the old Avengers story ends, Loki helps explain the strange multiverse that comes afterward.

For viewers who want to understand why different realities can collide, Loki is one of the most useful pieces of the puzzle.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

This is another major movie to watch before Doomsday.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes the multiverse much more important to the MCU and shows just how dangerous alternate realities can become.

Doctor Strange also becomes one of the characters most closely associated with the MCU's supernatural and multiversal side.

The movie introduces viewers to different versions of characters, alternate realities, and the consequences of crossing between universes.

That makes it particularly useful preparation for a movie that is expected to bring together heroes from different worlds.

Spider Man No Way Home

Spider Man No Way Home is one of the clearest examples of the MCU opening the door to other universes.

Peter Parker's story brings together different versions of Spider Man and villains from previous Spider Man movies.

For longtime Marvel fans, it was proof that characters from different versions of the franchise could exist within the same larger multiverse.

That idea becomes even more important as Marvel moves toward Avengers Doomsday.

If you want to understand why characters from completely different Marvel movie eras can suddenly appear together, No Way Home is worth watching.

Deadpool And Wolverine

This movie may be one of the most important preparations for Doomsday because it directly connects the MCU with the wider Fox Marvel movie universe.

Deadpool And Wolverine brings Deadpool into the MCU while also revisiting characters and elements from the X-Men era of Marvel movies.

That matters because Avengers Doomsday is expected to bring the MCU's heroes together with major characters from the X-Men universe.

The movie also makes the idea of different Marvel realities much more accessible to casual viewers.

If you have time for only one multiverse-focused movie from the recent MCU, this should be high on your list.

The Fantastic Four First Steps

Do not skip The Fantastic Four First Steps.

The movie introduces the MCU's version of Marvel's First Family and establishes a completely different world from the one audiences have followed through many previous MCU movies.

That becomes especially important because the Fantastic Four are part of the larger Doomsday setup.

Reed Richards is also one of Marvel's most important scientific minds, making his involvement potentially significant when the MCU is dealing with a threat as enormous as Doctor Doom.

Watching this movie before Doomsday gives you a much better understanding of who these new characters are and why their universe matters.

X Men Is Worth Watching Before Doomsday

This is where things become especially exciting for longtime Marvel fans.

Avengers Doomsday is bringing back several major X-Men characters from the earlier Fox movie universe, including Professor X, Magneto, Beast, Cyclops, Mystique, and Nightcrawler.

That means viewers who grew up watching the original X-Men movies have an extra reason to revisit them.

You do not necessarily need to watch every X-Men movie before Doomsday.

However, watching the original X-Men gives you the basic relationship between Professor X and Magneto and introduces several of the characters who are returning.

The presence of the original X-Men is one of the biggest surprises surrounding Doomsday.

Captain America Brave New World

Captain America Brave New World is useful because it shows where Sam Wilson's Captain America stands in the post-Endgame MCU.

Sam is no longer simply trying to fill Steve Rogers' shoes. He is now carrying the Captain America identity into a completely different political and superhero landscape.

Watching this movie helps explain the current status of one of the MCU's most important heroes.

Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts is another movie worth adding to your preparation list.

The film brings together characters who are not exactly the traditional Avengers team, including Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, John Walker, and Taskmaster.

Their story becomes important because the MCU is no longer operating with the same Avengers lineup audiences knew during the Infinity Saga.

The movie also gives viewers a better understanding of the characters who could become important players in the MCU's next major conflict.

What About Ant Man And The Wasp Quantumania

This one is not absolutely essential for everyone, but it is useful if you want to understand the larger multiverse storyline.

Quantumania introduces Kang and the Quantum Realm and explores another part of the MCU's complicated reality structure.

However, if your goal is simply to understand Avengers Doomsday, you can put it below the essential titles on your watchlist.

The Shortest Avengers Doomsday Watchlist

If you do not have time for a massive Marvel marathon, start with these:

Avengers Endgame

Loki Season 1

Loki Season 2

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Spider Man No Way Home

Deadpool And Wolverine

The Fantastic Four First Steps

X Men

Thunderbolts

Captain America Brave New World

These titles cover the most important areas you need to know about, including the Avengers' history, alternate realities, the multiverse, the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and the X-Men.

The Complete Fan Watchlist

If you have plenty of time and want to go deeper, you can expand your marathon with:

Avengers Infinity War

Avengers Endgame

Loki

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Spider Man No Way Home

Ant Man And The Wasp Quantumania

The Marvels

Deadpool And Wolverine

Captain America Brave New World

Thunderbolts

The Fantastic Four First Steps

X Men

X2 X Men United

X Men The Last Stand

X Men Days Of Future Past

X Men Apocalypse

X Men Dark Phoenix

Logan

You do not need every one of these movies to enjoy Doomsday, but they can make the multiverse connections and returning characters much more meaningful.

Why Avengers Doomsday Could Change The MCU Again

Avengers Doomsday is not simply another Avengers sequel.

It is shaping up to be a massive crossover involving different corners of Marvel's movie universe.

The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men are all part of the conversation surrounding the movie, while Doctor Doom stands at the center of the threat.

That makes the movie feel less like a continuation of one storyline and more like a collision between several different Marvel worlds.

And that is exactly why your watch order matters.

The One Movie You Should Definitely Rewatch

If you are sitting there wondering which movie matters most, the answer is still Avengers Endgame.

It represents the end of one Marvel era and the beginning of the world that leads toward this new Avengers story.

But if you want the full experience, combine Endgame with Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider Man No Way Home, Deadpool And Wolverine, and The Fantastic Four First Steps.

Then add the X-Men movies if you want to understand the returning mutant characters.

Final Thoughts

You do not need to watch hundreds of hours of Marvel content before Avengers Doomsday.

You just need to understand the important pieces.

Start with Endgame. Then explore the multiverse through Loki, Doctor Strange, and Spider Man. Watch Deadpool And Wolverine to understand the crossover with the older Marvel universe, and watch The Fantastic Four First Steps to meet Marvel's newest major team.

Finally, revisit the X-Men movies if you want to understand the returning mutants.

Because this time, Marvel is not simply bringing the Avengers back together.

It is bringing entire Marvel universes together.